Frankfurter and His Mommy

Gunner James

I am Angela Walters. Hello and welcome to my blog! I am a Christian, card making, wiener dog loving lady. I started this blog in 2009 to share the cards I have made and my wonderful wiener dog, Frankfurter, with all of you. Although my dear Frank passed away in May of 2017, this blog continues as a way to honor him and all of the joy he brought into the world!

In September of 2017, I adopted another wiener dog, Gunner James. Gunner is not a replacement for Frank because no one could ever replace my amazing Frankfurter. Instead, my heart simply grew as I fell in love with another sweet Dachshund. I am thankful and blessed to have another sweet boy to share with all of you, along with my cards, on this blog.

My life will always be better because of the time I spent with my wiener dog, Frankfurter Walters. I was blessed to be his Mommy from June 30, 2001 until he passed away on May 21, 20017. He will forever be loved and missed.

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

MFTWSC203 Blue Skies Ahead with a Health Update!

I finally have some good news about my back, so it only seems fitting that I share it with a card to celebrate!

About a month and a half ago, I had a test called a diskogram. I said at the time it sounds fun.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to the diskogram!"

Believe me, it's anything but fun! They stick needles into the disks between your vertebrae to see how much pain it causes. You don't get any pain medication and have to go off any pain medication you've been on so they get a true reading. Well, mine hurt so badly that I started crying during the procedure. They hit a nerve that went down my leg that felt like what I imagine it feels like when you're electrocuted. I've had a kidney stone before, which are known for being awful, and that pain made the kidney stone seem like a walk in the park!

The doctors had a terrible time performing the test because my back was so bad. One of the technicians described it as a "diskogram for the ages." When I met with my doctor to discuss the results, she came in with her eyes wide open after reading the report and said, "YOU NEED SURGERY!" Now, we actually knew that before the diskogram from the MRI, but the diskogram proved how bad my back truly is and that I definitely need surgery to fix it.

On January 9th, I will finally have surgery to try and help with the awful pain in my back caused by two disks at the end of my spine. At this time, I only leave the house for doctor's appointments because the pain is so bad. This is why you see a couple of cards and then I disappear. I might be decent for a couple of days but then I can't get off the couch for a week. It will be a two person surgery which is why it's still over a month away. My doctor could do it sooner, but her partner that she will pair with could not. Having both of them operate on me at the same time will help me with the time I'm under anesthesia, get the repairs done faster, and should help improve recovery time.

Beginning December 5th, I will start to wean off the Fentanyl patch, which I have used for pain control since spring. I am to be completely off of it the week before surgery to help with my pain control after surgery. I'm a little, okay- a lot, worried about this because I'm in so much pain with the patch, I don't know what it will be like without it. So if I disappear in December, you'll know why.

You may remember this has gone on since February 2013 when I just thought I had pulled some muscles moving. I went to a chiropractor in May 2013 for a month. When that didn't help, I saw my family doctor in June who sent me to a pain clinic in July. They assured me that each procedure they tried clear through March of 2014 would help, but nothing ever did. I saw a surgeon in April, but he was a jerk and there's no way I would have gone back to him. In June, I got in to my family doctor again, who sent me to the surgeon who is going to operate on me now in July. After the MRI, diskogram, a couple rounds of the flu, and several appointments, we're finally ready to get something done!

Although my parents have been wonderful taking care of Frank and I because there's a lot of things I cannot do, like bend over, lift anything remotely heavy (nothing more than half a gallon of milk and that is hard), stand for any length of time, etc, it will be great to start to be a functioning adult again.

Thank you all for your prayers and emails of encouragement. I can't wait until I am better and blogging on a regular basis again. Making cards, when I can, has helped deal with the pain and depression that comes along with being in pain this long, having to live with my parents instead of supporting myself, etc. Hopefully, there is nothing but blue skies ahead!

Reverse Confetti Dreamcatcher

Watercolor May Flower

AI His and Hers Camping Set Honorable Mention

Teacher's Pet

Hugs from my Heart

Reverse Confetti Dreamcatcher

You're #1 In My Book

Donut Know What I'd Do

Milk and Cookies

Santa Paws with Chilly Chums

Santa Paws with Chilly Chums

Another Great Year

Furry Christmas

For directions, search "Every Little Bit"

What's more special than Frank pictures?

I hope you are enjoying my cards and pictures. Please feel free to direct others to my blog to see my creations. If I have inspired you, please give me credit and do not post my creations as your own. If you do and I find out, Gunner will come to your house and bite you. :)